By Your Side — when things need to change

As the peak body for diabetes in Western Australia, Diabetes WA represents the voices of people living with diabetes across our state.

Our role is clear.

We listen to West Australians.
We bring their experiences forward.
And when change is needed, we amplify those voices to government and other stakeholders.

Across WA — from Perth to regional and remote communities — we are hearing consistent themes:

• The daily mental and emotional load of diabetes.

• Rising out-of-pocket costs for essential technology.

• The impact of diabetes on sleep, work, pregnancy and family life.

• The inequities faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and those living outside metropolitan areas.

These are not abstract policy issues.
They are everyday realities.

---

A united diabetes sector

The national diabetes sector has recently put forward recommendations to improve equitable access to modern diabetes technologies.

These include:

• Subsidising insulin pumps to increase access to Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) systems.

• Expanding subsidised access to Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) for people with insulin-treated type 2 and other forms of diabetes.

Our support for these recommendations reflects what we are hearing from West Australians living with diabetes and the health professionals who care for them.

Learn more about Unite for Tech.

---

Our advocacy role

Advocacy is one of our core functions as WA’s peak diabetes body.

We do not make funding decisions.
We do not control government policy.

But we ensure decision-makers understand:

• The lived experience of diabetes in Western Australia.

• The inequities within the current system.

• The practical realities faced by families.

• The long-term implications for our health system.

We advocate in a way that is measured, evidence-based and grounded in the voices of our community.

---

Why this matters for WA

Western Australia’s geography and demographics make equitable access particularly important.

Large distances.
Remote communities.
Growing diabetes prevalence.

Policy settings designed nationally must work locally.

Our responsibility is to ensure Western Australia’s context is part of the national conversation.

---

By Your Side — when things need to change

Being By Your Side means supporting individuals every day.

It also means standing alongside our community when systems, funding models or access settings are not meeting their needs.

We will continue to:

• Listen to West Australians living with diabetes.

• Bring their experiences into policy discussions.

• Work collaboratively with the national diabetes sector.

• Advocate respectfully for equitable access to evidence-based care.

Because meaningful change begins with lived experience — and someone prepared to carry that voice forward.